Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

I remember watching a company recruiting employees at a job fair, and telling them some aspects of what it would mean to work for them. One of the things that stood out was how they dealt with those that came there saying they love the overall field that the company represented. It was a retail craft store that had outlets all over the U.S.

Crafts, among a number of people, is truly one of their loves. What the recruiter told everybody though was that just because they loved the field that their products entailed, didn't mean that they would necessarily be good at working for them.

They had a number of people work for them throughout the years that said the same thing and failed miserably at the job they worked at. Why? They only loved the product to the point of talking with people about it. What they didn't do was concentrate on selling, marketing and offering add-on sales to the customer.

Now the reason I mention this is that it is the same when you love something and follow the advice of many that say that this will be what determines business success. While it is a starting place; it can never be the determining factor.

Those who love what they do usually end up working in their business, rather than on it. Those that are successful, are the ones that understand that while they love the product or service they offer, their days of just gabbing about it indiscriminately are over. They are in the business to sell what they believe in so much.

Say you love flying and start a school for it. The day will come when you discover that you're no longer a pilot, but someone that runs a business. Understanding that is what separates the successful from those that gradually grow to hate their business. What causes this? The tension between wanting to interact with what you love and wanting do it, and having to center your attention on growing a successful business. One of the two will suffer if you don't embrace this reality.

In business, it's your hobby or love that will have to be set aside for the sake of the business. If you do it right, you will find yourself needing to concentrate on that which makes a successful business, against wanting to do the thing that got you interested in the business in the first place.

So when thinking about what it is you want to do, realize that the business will eventually become the priority of your life against the other. Understand that going in and it will help you to migrate from one to the other without damaging the business in the process.

Have you found this tension to be true in your business?